You may have wondered which are the most effective exercises new moms can do to stay strong and healthy. Many pregnant women and new moms think the best way to stay healthy is by doing cardio and strength training. But is it?

Safe Exercises New Moms Can Do

Exercising while pregnant is beneficial for most women. One of the safest and most effective workouts for all women preparing for childbirth is a Pilates core workout. Pilates workouts focus on building a strong core, flexibility, balance, and improving posture. Your core is your body's foundation. It is a group of muscles that incorporates every movement of your body, except those of your arms and legs.

These muscles stabilize movement, transfer forces between movements, and initiates some movements. Some of the hidden, deeper muscles of the core, the ones we typically train, include, but are not limited to are the transverse abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and pelvic floor. These are just a few of the important muscles used during childbirth. A weak core leads to dysfunction or injury in the body. Having a strong core is essential to preventing Diastisis-Recti and incontinence, prior to childbirth, and especially following a Cesarean-section birth.

Don't forget about taking care of your skin during this time as well. Drink plenty of water and lots of healthy fats. Using an organic body butter (like this one) will also help to keep your skin hydrated and healthy (and less likely to get stretch marks).

Exercises New Moms Shouldn't do Post-Pregnancy

Crunches and planks should be avoided during your pregnancy starting around 8-10 weeks. These are also two exercises new moms should avoid post-pregnancy for the first 12-16 weeks following your baby's arrival. Some moms may not be able to preform crunches or planks for a much longer period of time. Please make sure you do not have DR or incontinence before starting a post-pregnancy exercise program. I rarely if ever do crunches.

My Advice to You [Mom to Mom]

I teach all my clients to focus on their plates daily to get a flat tummy along with Pilates core work. I had a flat tummy prior to pregnancy because of the food choices I made and my Pilates workouts. Post-pregnancy my tummy took about 11 months to return back with nutrition and Pilates. I am still nursing my two year old son today. I had to grow a lot of patience in my transformation back. This was a tough pill for me to swallow given my career as a Chek Holistic Lifestyle Coach and former bikini model. Each mom has their own unique journey, avoid comparing your journey to another's and definitely nix the negative self-talk. Instead enjoy your baby and your body… that grew a little human and experienced childbirth.

Two Exercises New Moms Need Daily

The two exercises I would like to share with moms and moms-to-be are cat/cow pose and seated pelvic tilt on a stability ball. Both of these exercises are safe no matter where you are in your pregnancy and post-pregnancy journey. Both of these exercises stretch the hips, lower spine, back and core muscles. More importantly, they open up the lungs and help for better breathing which is essential during childbirth and in everyday life. When performing these exercises make it a point to inhale slowly through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.

Cat & Cow

On a mat get on your hands and knees, make sure your shoulders are directly over your wrists and your hips are directly over your knees. In cow pose your spine in long, inhale squeezing your shoulders blades together while slightly tilting your pelvis toward the floor. be sure not to bend your elbows. Exhale while rounding your back like a cat, tucking your chin in and looking at your beautiful belly. In cat pose be sure not to shift your weight forward or back, keep your hips over your knees and your shoulders over your wrists. Pretend like someone is punching you in the belly and you are rounding out your back. Perform 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pelvic Tilt

Seated on a stability that is for your height, place your feet hip width apart, look down to make sure your knees are directly over your ankles and your feet are straight (avoid turning your toes out or letting your knees cave in). Make sure your shoulders are stacked over your hips and you are sitting up nice and tall. Relax your shoulders and focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together. You can keep your hands at your hips or on your legs, whichever you prefer. Seated upright inhale through your nose, as you exhale tuck your hips under toward your knees. When you inhale your belly should rise as you fill it with air and as you exhale it should lower since you are pushing the air out. Perform 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Natural deodorant! It's the product I get asked about all the time. No one wants the nasty chemicals in conventional deodorant but no one wants to be stinky either. I've been on the hunt for the perfect natural deodorant for 6 years! This summer I finally decided to do my own official experiment to find the best natural brands that exist.

How I Chose Brands to Test

If you're reading my blog chances are you're into natural products. That's why the first thing I did was ask you about your favorite natural deodorant brands. Reading the results of my natural deodorant survey was a lot of fun. Everyone had great ideas, feedback, and suggestions.

One remarkable outcome of the survey was that 19% of the natural mama's that filled out the survey all had the same favorite deodorant. Go figure! In case you're wondering, the deodorant I'm talking about isContinue Reading

The most dreaded part of getting my children ready for school in the morning is dealing with my daughter's long tangled hair. It's amazing how tangled hair can get in one night! My daughter loves having long hair and plans to grow it as long as Rapunzel. Since long hair is here to stay I had to come up with some solutions.

When I was growing up I had long hair and had to endure many hours of hair brushing torture. The only solution at the time was a product called No More Tangles by Johnson & Johnson. It helped a little but surely wasn't the answer to my problems. Even if this was the only solution on earth I'd never use it today. If you're not familiar with my feelings about Johnson & Johnson this blog post explains one reason why I won't support them. Just a simple look at the ingredients in this product would scare any parent looking for safe kids products.

It's clear that the ingredients in this product are anything but natural so it's off limits for my family. Don't worry, I have good news. I've come up with three shortcuts to dealing with long tangled hair and you won't have to deal with the relentless crying every morning.

#1 The Best Kids Brush Ever

If you do some google searching for tangled hair solutions you'll surely come up with some information on the Knot Genie. I initially came across this hair brush in a natural moms forum. At $10 it's certainly worth a try but I was reluctant to say the least. At first glance it didn't look very magical but I was pleasantly surprised how well it works. We still use this brush today and it does reduce some of the tangled hair torture.

#2 Organic Detangling Spray

When you are dealing with dry tangled hair, a spray is the best way to go. We tried a number of different homemade recipes until we found something that worked. The key is marshmallow root, it's slippery nature and ability to moisturize is why it works so well. I also dabbled with some store bought products but never found anything I was in love with. That's why I'm excited to now have our winning handmade mixture for sale in my online shop.

#3 Shea Butter Conditioner

Another way is to make sure you're dealing with less tangles to begin with. After washing your daughter's hair, use a shea butter conditioner like this one, and use a wide tooth comb to comb it through then rinse as normal. Once the hair is toweled dry put in a loose braid before bed. In the morning there will be very little tangles to deal with.

These little tricks will certainly make your hair brushing task much easier for you and your daughter. These shortcuts have worked really well for us.

What is your best shortcut for tangled hair?

Most naturally minded parents have at least considered purchasing a non-toxic mattress for their child. It is a topic that has become pretty well known in the last few years. The reality is, it's a big purchase and no one wants to waste money on gimmicks or kids product trends so you may ask yourself – is a non-toxic mattress really necessary?

The Main Problem with Conventional Mattresses

As of July 1, 2007, all U.S. mattresses are required to be flame retardant. The result is that manufacturers are coating mattresses with highly toxic flame-retardant chemicals. Chemicals like polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), Boric acid, and antimony (a known carcinogen) are all over your mattress.

What is even worse is that this does NOT have to be disclosed in any way. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has studied chemically treated mattresses and found that the chemicals do, in fact, leech from the mattress. This means that when your child sleeps on a conventional mattress she will be absorbing these chemicals all night long.Continue Reading